Here's What Technology State and Local Governments Bought in 2017

Service contracts were the most common type of technology buy for state and local governments in 2017, according to data from the Center for Digital Government (CDG).*

Services made up 34 percent of all 2017 procurements captured in Government Navigator, CDG’s tech purchasing database. Software was 26 percent; hardware was 24 percent; networks and telecommunications work was 13 percent; and construction was 3 percent.

Those numbers fall roughly in line with quarterly results from earlier in the year.

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State governments were the most prolific purchasers in the data set, accounting for 37 percent of all procurements tracked. Cities were 32 percent, counties were 23 percent and special districts were 8 percent.

Procurements in the data set have been rising steadily for years, from 23,000 in 2013 to 35,000 in 2017. A likely explanation for that trend is simply that Government Navigator is catching more procurements as time goes on. It is possible, however, that state and local governments are purchasing more — after all, a lot of those entities have found their finances improving as the country moves on from the recession years.

*The Center for Digital Government is part of e.Republic, Government Technology's parent company.